Two years ago, I found myself sitting around a dinner table with some truly impressive people. One started LA’s premiere social impact focused co-working space. Another had recently published an op-ed in the New York Times and was writing a book about his experience transitioning from Wall Street to founding a nonprofit. A third started a massive electronics recycling social venture. They were gathered to discuss increasing the profile of the LA social entrepreneurship scene.
Me? I was there as a guest of my friend who had just started working with the White House on introducing a new model of social impact funding.
Impressive.
In most crowds, I’m no slouch. I have a background in nonprofit management and consulting along with a growing profile as a storyteller and solo performer. But it was all so unfocused. I’d been working on an idea that would combine my passion for story with my commitment to making the world a better place. But it was still a half baked thought cloud.
So everyone’s going around the table introducing themselves and I know that it’s going to get to me eventually. Suddenly it’s my turn and I have no idea what to say. My eyes roam around the table at all of these amazing people illuminated in the faint glow of candles, and my mouth opens.
‘I’m Michael. I’m the founder of Story Impact, a consulting practice that works with amazing individuals and organizations to discover and harness the power of their stories to create change.’
It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud. And the reaction is swift; everyone leans forward. They start to ask questions. They ask for my business card. Of course, I don’t have one. I tell them that I’ll email them the next day with more information.
That night, I went home and built a website.
The next day, I followed up.
And within a week, I had a two clients.
The idea of explicitly combining story and social impact had clearly struck a nerve. As I’ve worked with folks over the past couple of years--everyone from startup founders and nonprofit leaders to large groups working towards greater team cohesion--the need and responsibility we all have to tell our stories has become more clear.
A story is much more than a string of causes and effects. And it’s more than a way to engage people or structure emotions. It is, very simply, the basic building block of community.
Long before we had writing, equations, double blind studies, and infographics, we had story. Story – not data or raw information – contained the DNA of every community. Stories convey values, history, and purpose.
Any business or organization, regardless of their sector or mission, is engaged in community building on some level. You build communities of customers and clients, boards of directors, contributors, volunteers and, of course, staff. What story are you telling these various communities? Are the stories consistent? Do they contain and transmit your core values, your purpose, the ‘why’ and passion that drove you to do whatever you do?
At the end of every Story Impact event I urge everyone to embrace a Culture of Storytelling. One in which each individual’s story – whether staff, volunteers, audience members or contributors – plays into and helps build the organization or project’s broader story. A culture in which everyone feels heard and moves in the community with the knowledge that they are an integral part of something greater than themselves.
People always get excited about the idea, but generally don’t do anything with it because it’s really, really hard.
Enter NationBuilder.
My first introduction to NationBuilder came through, of all places, an online dating site. A woman I met had just started working there and was basically vibrating with excitement. Words tumbled from her mouth so fast, I could barely keep up. Community! Story! Technology! Authenticity! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
I visited the offices and met a few of the folks who work there. They shared their stories of how they came to work at the company. They told me about the story circles that gave them the chance to share their stories with each other. And about how exploring their personal stories was a key part of the training process.
I started to get excited.
Nearly a year later, the opportunity to join NationBuilder as their first Story Coach popped up and I jumped on it. The chance to be a part of a place that was actively doing the hard work of creating a culture of storytelling was too big to pass up. That NationBuilder is itself in the business of helping others build community makes it even more powerful. The potential is huge.
I had no idea where I’d end up when I raced home after that dinner party to make a website. I’m grateful for the opportunity to join NationBuilder and beyond excited to see what we can all build together, one story and one community at a time.